The Lord's Tender Mercies - So Much To Be Grateful For

A friend of mine who also has a blog posts amazing things. Recently she posted some thoughts about the tender mercies of the Lord in her life and shared some of the wonderful blessings she is so thankful for.
It really got me to thinking - esp after the disasterous last few days for our family...so here is my list of things that I am thankful for. Thank you Julie so much for helping me to truly see the Lord's hand in my life esp through the struggles

1) I am thankful for sick little people who climb into my lap and want to be held and rocked. The kids have all taken turns the last 2 weeks getting VERY sick with a nasty bug. Ky is like a tornado most days and never is still enough to sit let alone crawl into my lap. His droopy eyes, sad face and his sweet arms reached out to me told me it was time for me to set aside everything, and so I did and we both napped in our favorite recliner chair. It was precious time for me.

2) I am thankful for finding out the van was having major issues and having emergency funds to take care of the problems BEFORE we left for our big trip. I went in for a rountine oil change and check just like we always do before we travel - thinking in, out, no big deal. Only to discover a short time later that brakes AND tires were on their way out and would not have been safe to travel. I was close to tears when I found out - where were we going to find THAT MUCH $ to pay for repairs...Preston was able to remember an emergency only acct that we still had access to...it will be a struggle to get $ balanced but our immediate needs were met and we have the knowledge of peace & safety for our long weekend trip.

3) I am thankful for preston having to go out of town for military, AGAIN. He just got a notice that most likely he will be going to another state (I forget where) to do a requested ceremony. It would be 2 days of active duty pay plus logging hours of regular work while he is gone. Hoping all goes through it will be the extra funds needed to possibly help pay for the car repairs

4) I am thankful for the wonderful smell of warm homemade bread. A good friend of ours gave us an AMAZING recipe for homemade rolls. The girls have been begging to make them. They got into a snag while making dough when I was away from the house today and they were in a panic and I was kind of frustrated when I got back to them. We all took a break and then came back to it and the girls had a blast doing assembly line cut outs (janay was here too) and then they ran a couple of errands on their bikes. The rolls were just coming out of the oven when they arrived home. The joy on their faces at seeing, smelling and tasting them was worth it. That smell will always remind me of this day of watching the girls learn something new and remind me of their joy of accomplishment.

5) I am thankful for the beauty of nature - even after 4 solid days of heavy rain. We have had very bizarre weather here - wind, heavy rain, hail, thunder & lightning. On the afternoon of the 4th day of rain I happened to be sitting in our favorite recliner chair in front of our front bay window. I again noticed the unusual beauty of a new plant in the yard. My eyes were drawn to the way the raindrops were being cradled on the leaves. I love any opportunity to get out my camera - even in the rain - and the more picts I took the more I noticed the delicate drops on the flowers and plants in the yard. I was fascinated and amazed at the delicate beauty left behind after such severe weather. Those picts have become some of my favorite and most cherished.

6) I am thankful for the blessing of a loving, patient, supportive husband - even when his wife is a loopy, insensitive dolt. I have been really struggling with sleep recently which is really starting to severely affect everything else in life - including my moods. Through all my grumpiness, distance, lack of desire to do anything he has been kind, calm and patient. He has helped with kiddos and house and has even found me some info that will hopefully help with sleep too. I dont know how he continues to put up with me, I only know that I am so thankful that he does.

7) I am thankful for the "fruit of our labors". Last week my girls and a couple of their friends went to pick pears. Another blessing to be thankful for - a friend who has fruit trees and no desire to do anything with them. My girls thought it was a grand adventure after all the days of rain. They biked back and forth 3 times that day to bring back pears and run errands. Monday night Preston came home from work early and he and I and the girls bottled pears. I thought for sure the little bit that the girls brought home would not amount to anything - what an amazing blessing to discover and look at 14 beautiful bottles of pears on the countertop! Our efforts provided food for our family that will be a treat through the whole winter!

8) I am thankful for friends who share their sorrows as well as their joys. I have a couple of friends who have been really struggling with life lately. My heart has ached for them and their sorrow but I have also felt joy at the opportunity to help share their burdens - even if all I did was listen and give my encouragement. I have also loved being able to share in the laughter over children's antics and knowing that even though we live in different houses that we can laugh over similar things that go on in each of our families. I am thankful to know that no matter where we are in life that we share similar life experiences and that we can learn and grow from each other through the joys and sorrows and frustrations that we share with each other. I hope those friends know how much I truly care for them and know that I am blessed because of the things they share with and give to me.

9) I am thankful for the gift of giving. Our ward Relief Society recently had a service auction. Sisters would agree to donate time, talents, etc and we each bid on those items as if in a real auction. The process itself was hilarious and the rewards and blessings more numerous than any of us can count. My "service" was treating a sister/family to a "dessert of the month" club - 12 months of ,hopefully, decadent desserts. There is one sister in our ward who I have always felt overwhelmed and very intimidated by. She is an amazing person in more ways than I can describe. I have never known how to be around her let alone talk with her. Just my luck that she gave the highest bid for my service. I was terrified to say the least! How was I supposed to make something good enough for this amazing sister and her family? Well, I took the opportunity this last weekend to make and take something fun. As I delivered it I got the chance to stop and chat for a few minutes on her doorstep - what an amazing gift to laugh with this sister about something all of us had struggled with - cooped up kiddos after 4 solid days of rain! Just a couple days after that I got another chance to chat with her when her son came to work on some scout stuff with Preston. Again I was amazed that I was laughing and chatting with her about similar likes and life experiences. I think I have chatted with and learned more about her in the last few days than I have in the last 11 years of knowing her! My heart has been the one to change because I have been able to give this simple service to her. Instead of being terrified I am anxiously looking forward to what the next 11 months will bring! I think that giving to others is an even greater gift to ourselves, I know it has been for me.

10) I am thankful for homemade mac n' cheese! This is one of those all time favorite comfort foods! Ever since I had Ceana I have not been able to stand the smell, let alone the taste of macaroni and cheese. It has been a big struggle for me. Recently I found a fun Food Network DVD featuring homemade mac n' cheese - made and on the table in 20 minutes - how great is that? So we decided to give it a try - and it is so FAB! We have made it twice already it is so yummy. I love the flavor and how it is just so nummy! I also love that it really does only take 20 minutes or less to make it! It is fast becoming a family favorite and it will be one that we add to our food storage inventory. It is one of those fun comfort foods that makes you want to just curl up in your favorite chair with a good book and enjoy every bite with every page. Ok - so big confession - it has made me want to do that - and I have - a couple of times already :) Food, good book, comfy chair, how fabulous is that? It's WONDERFUL :)

Wel, hope you have enjoyed my list - I hope this will be a more regular entry - maybe on my sidebar - but even if not - it will be more regular in my mind and heart. The Lord truly sends great blessings in small and simple ways - it is our job and our joy to find them - I hope I will do more in the future to do better with both.